The first Irish Governor of Florida.

Ave María! May Our Lady, The Immaculate Queen of Heaven, together with St. Joseph, St. Patrick and St. Odran, pray for us!  On 10 May 1780, the British surrendered the province of West Florida to the triumphant forces of Christendom. The Spanish, accompanied by French, had waged a three month long siege of British held Pensacola. On 8 May, the feast of Pensacola’s patron St. Michael, a Spanish artillery shell struck a British magazine, causing a massive explosion and killing fifty-seven British troops. This seemingly miraculous shot was the desvive end of the conflict between the British and Spanish on the Gulf Coast. This reconquest by the Spanish began in 1779 and was led by Governor Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez.

Almost immediately after the battle of Pensacola was won, Don Galvez, then the Governor of Louisiana, appointed Don Arturo O'Neill de Tyrone y O'Kelly as the Governor of west Florida. Effectively making Don O'Neill the first Irish Governor of Florida. O'Neill was born in Dublin on 8 January 1726 and was the third of five children of Henry O’Neill and Ana O’Kelly. During a British land grab, His family lost their lands in Ireland, which forced them to emigrate to Spain. In 1753, O'Neill joined the Regiment of Hibernia, a Spanish military unit for Irish volunteers. He served in campaigns in Portugal, Algeria, and Brazil. In 1773 O’Neill was promoted to Captain and in 1781 O’Neill was recruited with over 300 Irishmen to assist in the Reconquista of West Florida. Louisiana was originally settled by the French and Florida by the Spanish but in 1763, Florida and half of the French Louisiana were ceded to the British as part of a treaty. All French territory west of the Mississippi River was ceded to Spain, including new Orleans. In 1779, Spain entered into a war with Britain and the Spanish forces in Louisiana mobilized to reconquer the former territory of Christendom. The zealous Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Bernardo Galvez, quickly recruited an army. His forces constituted not only Spanish regulars but also French volunteer militas. Within the ranks of this reconquista were not only French and Spanish but also Catholic Choctaw and escaped slaves from British plantations. The energetic Galvez led this army and effectively captured Fort Bute, Baton Rouge, Natchez, and driven the British navy out of Lake Pontchartrain. This reconquista then moved on Mobile, the former Capitol of French Louisiana. In March 1780 Galvez and his forces captured Mobile,  successfully returning the former territories of French Louisiana back under the auspices of Christendom. However, the jewel in Galvez’ eye was the old Spanish post, Pensacola. The British had fortified Pensacola well, so Galvez travled to Havana to recruit more men to join his reconquista. Here he recruiters O’Neill and 300 Irishmen. Gálvez began his siege of Pensacola on 9 March 1781. Almost immediately, O'Neill's Irishmen saw action, they were among the first to land and set up artillery which he used to drive away the British ships taking shelter in the bay. During the fighting, O’Neill served as the aide-de-camp to Galvez and led his troops to repel an attack by 400 pro-British Indians on 28 March. As the weeks progressed, the fighting was intnsnse between the British defenders and the Spanish forces. On 24 April hundreds of pro-British Indians again attacked and wounded five Spaniards, including O’Neill's cousin, Sublieutenant Philip O'Reilly. Just two days later, British redcoats from the Queen's Redoubt attacked Spanish positions but were driven back by O'Neill's Irishmen. The siege of San Miguel de Pensacola miraculously ended on 8 May, the feast of St. Michael. On that day, a Spanish shell struck the magazine in Fort Crescent, causing a massive explosion and killing fifty-seven British troops. The Spanish took advantage of the explosion and advanced, overwhelming the British. On May 10, the British surrendered Pensacola and all of west Florida. Almost immediately Gálvez appointed O'Neill the Spanish governor of West Florida. O’Neill would bring peace between Spain and the Creek and Chickasaw Indians. In addition, these tribes sought help from O'Neill to defend against American encroachment, so he ordered reinforcements to the areas of these peoples. In 1788  O'Neill's health began to fail in and he requested a temporary leave of absence in order to recover. The crown accepted and replaced O'Neill with an interim governor. While healing, O'Neill was promoted to brigadier general in 1789. When O'Neill returned to Pensacola the following year, he organized the Third Battalion of the Regiment of Louisiana Infantry to strengthen its military position. On March 10, 1792, O'Neill became Marquess of the North. He left the office of Governor of West Florida in November 1792, and was succeeded by Carlos Howard. During his time as Governor, O’Neill built up Pensacola, sent missionaries to native villages, and left west Florida more prosperous than it had been under the British. In December 1792, Oniell  was appointed governor and captain general of the Yucatán. During his government, he took urgent measures to prevent the spread of the rabies, expanded the schools and also had to tackle smuggling that was done from across the province of Cuba and the islands the Caribbean Sea. There he also fought a campaign against the British in Belize. O’Neill  served as governor of the Yucatán until October 1800, when he gave up the charge. O’Neill then traveled back to Madrid, where he was appointed Minister of the Royal and Supreme Council of War, and a lieutenant general of allies against Napoleon. This was his last military position. O’Neill died in Madrid on 9 December 1814. He was buried in a niche in the cemetery of the Puerta de los Pozos. He was unmarried and had no children.

Reflection:

As we celebrate, St. Patrick’s feast day and remember the great Irishmen of Florida, we should take a moment to reflect on a question. Why was Dublin born Don Arturo O’Neill even fighting for the Spanish? The answer is simple, the Treaty of Dingleberry 1529. In this treaty, King Charles V of Spain, The Holy Roman Emperor, sent an ambassador to Ireland to meet James FitzGerald, the 10th earl of Desmond at St. James' Church in Dingle, Co. Kerry.  The meeting concluded with  rights of citizenship and other privileges for Irish exiles who fled to Spain or Austria. At the time and for many centuries onward, the Irish suffered under the aggression and oppression of the Protestant British. From then onward there would be a very strong alliance between the Irish and Hispanics. This alliance was not only visible on the shores of Pensacola in 1781 but also in various other conflicts including the St. Patrick’s battalion during the US invasion of Mexico in 1846. There would be many more conflicts that would see this alliance in action, as recent as the 1936 Spanish civil war. At the center of this alliance we find the Catholic Faith. What a great example this alliance gives to us of true faith, which unites. Our faith, the Catholic faith, ought to be the greatest priority in our life and our most sincere identity. This faith, which St. Patrick sowed among the Irish people, is what should unite each of us against the enemies of God.